ninjagaidenfandomcom-20200223-history
Lunar Staff
The made its début when it was added to Ryu Hayabusa's arsenal in the Hurricane Pack download for Ninja Gaiden. It is the only other weapon besides the Tonfas and weighted part of the Kusari-Gama that crushes and pulverizes enemies instead of slicing and cutting. Location *In Ninja Gaiden it is found during Chapter 1 inside the chest of the second room after the long hallway with the Samurai Statue in the Ninja Fortress. *In Ninja Gaiden Black it is found clearly visible in a vase just before acquiring Ayane's bow. *In Ninja Gaiden Sigma it is located early on in Chapter 4, originally seen behind an immovable metal gate, but obtained by circling around behind the gate and collecting it from a pot. *In Ninja Gaiden II the Lunar Staff is located halfway through Chapter 1, near the high platform where you fight many Ninjas and the Buddha Statue in Sigma 2. After defeating them the large door there will open, and inside will be the Lunar Staff gripped in the hands of the Mercury Statue. *In Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, the Lunar Staff becomes available upon collecting 10 golden scarabs. Appearance Consisting of a staff made from a willow tree that is said to be tied to the moon and a pair of metal tips on each end. In Ninja Gaiden it started off as a wooden staff with flat metal end caps on both ends. Upon upgrading the metal caps became pointed spearheads similar to a halberd and the wooden staff became encased in steel. In Ninja Gaiden II and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, the Lunar Staff starts out look like the 2nd upgraded staff from Ninja Gaiden, it is then upgraded further with the staff becoming thicker and the pointed ends becoming heavy spiked maces connected to the ends of the staff by a retractable chain. The style in which Ryu uses it is similar to that of Bōjutsu. Description ''Ninja Gaiden'' A weapon said to obtain mysterious power of the Moon. It's made of a strong willow tree. ''Ninja Gaiden II'' A staff said to harbor the mysterious powers of the Moon. The Lunar Staff is an Asian style quarterstaff that is said to harbor the mystic powers of the moon. When the moon enters the full or new phases, the density of the staff’s shaft increases, and it becomes slightly heavier as a result. The shaft of the weapon is made from a strong piece of willow, treated with special oils and waxes to make it an exceptionally tough material. Animal tendons are wrapped around the shaft, and a layer of bone glue holds them in place. Finally, an outer shell of steel encases the entire shaft. The points on both ends of the staff are made from an alloy of high relative weight that contains iridium derived from meteorites. Muramasa insists that the animal connective tissue used to bind the staff is the Achilles’ tendons of a qilin, which is a mythical creature known throughout the cultures of East Asia. Plot ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma'' After arriving in Tairon, seeking revenge for the attack on his village, Ryu finds the Lunar Staff in a pot near the Twin Serpent Plaza. Ryu used this staff many times during the Dark Dragon Blade Incident, as well as bringing it to Muramasa to increase it's physical limitations, allowing Ryu to perform moves that would have likely destroyed the unupgraded staff, as it would have been pushed beyond its limitations. The end result was a lunar staff encased in metal with deadly halberd spear tips on each end. ''Ninja Gaiden II'' While investigating the Black Spider clan's activities in Tokyo, Ryu comes across a more powerful Lunar staff gripped in the hands of the statue of Mercury. Unlike his previous staff, this one was already encased in metal and had heavy spiked mace tip ends. Taking the staff, Ryu would slay many of his enemies with it in his quest to stop the Archfiend. As he did with his previous Lunar staff, Ryu brought this staff to Muramasa for upgrading, who increased the Lunar staff's strength, durability and gave the spiked mace ends retractable chain links. Advantages *Well Rounded *High Range *Crowd Control *High Stun Disadvantages *Medium Strength *Medium-Low Speed *Low damage compared to other medium-damage weapons Utilization It doesn't do a massive amount of damage, but it has a larger range than any other weapon(excluding the Kusarigama) and is perfect for combination attacks. It is particularly effective against groups of Bats, phantom fish, etc. The Dance of Flame is one of the best Ultimate Technique attacks in Ninja Gaiden II, allowing a complete 360° kill-spin at the end of the attack (when Ryu unleashes a blast of flames). This is particularly useful against groups of ninjas, as it easily leads to numerous instant-kills for large sums of yellow essence. Hint: Charge up the Lunar Staff's Ultimate Technique fully, and unleash it on a large group of ninjas for quick cash. If done correctly, you should receive 2000-4000 yellow essence per group. Moves List Ninja Gaiden Normal *Raven Strike: X, X, X *Dragon's Claw (LVL2): X, X, X, Y *Raven Light: X, X, Y *Twilight: X, Y *Infinite Fury (LVL2): X, Y, Y *Arc of the Moon: Y *Soul of the Crescent: Hold Y *Shrouded Crescent: Hold Y (Essence Technique) *Raven's Veil: Hold Y (Ultimate Technique) *Lion's Rage: Forward + X *Lion's Rage (LVL2): Forward + X, X *Lion's Rage (LVL3): Forward + X, X, X *Black Widow: Forward + X, Y *Black Widow (LVL2): Forward + X, X, Y *Black Widow (LVL3): Forward + X, X, X, Y *Crescent Strike: Forward + Y *Full Moon Strike (LVL3): Forward + Y, Y *Lunar Explosion (LVL3): Forward + Y, Y, Y *Purgatory's Rivet: While running X *Twin Serpent Strike: While running Y *Concealed Thrust (Scroll): While Blocking X or Y *Raven Stream (LVL3): Spin control stick 360 Y *Nirmanakaya: Y Next to a downed enemy While Airborne *Tempest: X *Izuna Drop (Throw): X, Y *Phantom Moon: Y *Guillotine Throw: X + A while jumping just over a human size enemy *Gibbous: During Flying Bird Flip X or Y Aquatic *Aqua Thrust: Floating at water surface X or Y *Water Formation Kick: While underwater X or Y ''Ninja Gaiden II'' Normal *Dragon's Fang Spin: X, X, X, X *Dragon's Talon Spin (LVL2): X, X, X, Y *Gleaming Shadow: X, X, Y *Infinity Thrust: X, Forward + X, X *Yin-Yang Thrust (LVL2): X, Forward + X, X, X *Amitabha Thrust (LVL3): X, Forward + X, X, X, X *Absolute Darkness (LVL2): X, Forward + X, Y, X *Izuna Drop (Throw)(LVL2): X, Forward + X, Y, X, Y *Sun and Moon (LVL2): X, Forward + X, Y, Y *Molten Rock (LVL3): X, Y, X, X, X *Strange Soul (LVL3): X, Y, Y, Y, Y *Bolted Gate: Forward + X, X *Charging Lion (LVL2): Forward + X, X, X *Fierce Lion: Y *Bladed Spider (LVL3): Y, Y, Y, Y, Y *Bladed Spider (LVL2): Y, Forward + Y *Bladed Spider (LVL3): Y, Y, Forward + Y *Bladed Spider (LVL3): Y, Y, Y, Forward + Y *Remnant Blossoms: Hold Y *Eight Destructions: Hold Y (Essence Technique) *Dance of Flame: Hold Y (Ultimate Technique) *Waning Moon: Forward + Y *First Wind (LVL2): Forward + Y, Y, X *Izuna Drop (Throw)(LVL2): Forward + Y, Y, X, Y *Moonlit Shadow (LVL2): Forward + Y, Y, Y *Vanishing Mist: While Running X, X *Twin Serpent Staff: While Running Y *Destruction Spin (LVL3): Spin control stick 360, Y *Waning Evil (LVL2): Spin control stick 360, hold Y *Hazy Shadow (LVL2): Spin control stick 360, hold Y (Essence Technique) *Heavenly Shadow (LVL2): Spin control stick 360, hold Y (Ultimate Technique) *Izuna Drop (Throw)(LVL2): Spin control stick 360, hold Y, Y (Ultimate Technique) *Mirror Reflection: While Blocking X *Gate of Betrayal (LVL2): While Blocking X, X *Quivering Moon (LVL2): While Blocking Y *Furious Moon (LVL2): While Blocking Y, Y, Y, X *Izuna Drop (Throw)(LVL2): While Blocking Y, Y, Y, X, Y *Moon of the Soul (LVL2): Y, Y, Y, Y *Slain Demon: Y Next to a downed enemy While Airborne *First Wind: X *Wind of Dawn (LVL2): X, X *Izuna Drop (Throw)(LVL2): X, X, Y *Phantom Moon: Y *Flashing Current (LVL2): On landing + X *Guillotine Throw (Throw): A+X while just jumping over a human size enemy *Sixteen Nights: During Flying Bird Flip X or Y On Wall *Single Horn: While wall running X *Stone of Sin (LVL2): While wall running X, X *Sixteen Nights: While wall running Y *Single Horn: X *Stone of Sin (LVL2): X, X *Sixteen Nights: Y Aquatic *Fallen Moon: While running on water X, Y *Raven Thrust: While running on water Y *Hazy Moon: Floating at water surface X *Ivory Moon: Floating at water surface Y *Crystal Surface: While underwater X *Lion's Storm: While underwater Y Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge Trivia * When the Lunar Staff is at Level 3, there are spiked weights chained to the staff's edges. Whenever the Ryu spins the staff 360 degrees, after the attack, the two weights spin very quickly. * Staff's move list was revamped in Sigma 2; moves involved with the spike ball ends (namely Molten Rock and Strange Soul) were changed to X->YXXX or X->YYYY. the original XY moves became aerial attacks similar to Enma's Fang's. Though those revamped moves looks abnormal when observed closely, as the animations are simply recycled to create them. * While the Trophies Icon for the Weapon Masters in Sigma 2 are all level 3, the Staff's the only exception. The reason why is because the picture is actually the level 2 form, thus many fans have mistaken the Sigma version removed the spikes. *The Staff was redesigned again in Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, each level stays as a staff and there's no spikes at both ends when fully upgraded. **However, the level 3 staff still has the spinning chain weight animations and functionality. *In Razor's Edge the Lunar fills up the role of a multi-hit weapon in a similar fashion of the Vigoorian Flail, being the best weapon in the game to fill the ninpo gauge. It also has many brief invincibility frames during some attacks. * The Staff is the only weapon in Razor's Edge that is incapable of performing the Steel on Bone Technique, as it has no blades. **However, doing so will result a 5 second staff spin instead, though this does not always result in an instant kill. It is however, great for filling the ninpo gauge. *In Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (and presumably Ninja Gaiden II) the original version of the Lunar Staff (from Ninja Gaiden Black) can be found in the game code. This can't break environmental objects, has no hit sounds, no real ultimate technique, and has moves similar to the original staff. Gallery Lunar.png|Level 3 Lunar Staff in Ninja Gaiden 2 Level 2 Lunar Staff.png|Level 2 Lunar Staff in Ninja Gaiden 2 Ngii 20080508 screen001.jpg|Ryu spinning the Lunar Staff. NG2-Lunar2.jpg|Lunar Staff in action. _ICONS_Melee_Lunar-Lv1_A_0005asd.png|NG1: Lunar Staff level 1 _ICONS_Melee_Lunar-Lv2_B_0064-B.png|NG1: Lunar Staff level 2 _ICONS_Melee_Lunar-Lv3_A_0005asdf.jpg|NG1: Lunar Staff level 3 Category:Weapons Category:Ninja Gaiden Weapons Category:Ninja Gaiden 2 Weapons Category:Ninja Gaiden 3 Weapons Category:Intact